Category: Nintendo News

The holiday season is now in full swing and VentureBeat reports Nintendo is once again in second place in terms of television advertising within the US. According to GamesBeat and its partner iSpot.tv – a real-time television ad measurement company – Nintendo was the second highest most-seen video game industry brand in November.

In the end, the company spent close to $20.4 million on 19 spots which ran more than 7,500 times and gained nearly 1.2 billion impressions. The most expensive spend was $5.8 million on Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Let’s Go, Eevee! These advertisements prioritised networks such as Nick and Adult Swim, during shows like Spongebob.

Yet again, Sony was in first place, spending around $43.1 million on 10 advertisements that ran over 4,100 times. The spend generated close to 1.7 billion impressions and the biggest commercial cost $11.8 million. Microsoft’s Xbox was in third, spending $17.1 million on five advertisements that ran around 4,000 times. It generated 923.4 million impressions and the top advertisement spend came in at $8.3 million.

In general, gaming brands almost doubled their budgets in the month of November, spending close to $102.3 million on a collective of 94 advertisements which aired more 22,420 times. In total, this generated 5.4 billion impressions.

US-based software developer Niantic became a global phenomenon when it released the augmented reality mobile game Pokémon GO in 2016. Since then, the company hasn’t looked back – continually improving the experience and building upon its own IP, while acquiring new licenses to work with at the same time. To this day, GO continues to be a money-maker for the company, banking $80 million in the month of November.

If that’s not impressive enough, The Wall Street Journal is reporting Niantic is now worth close to $4 billion. The company recently managed to raise $200 million via venture capital from GO. In contrast, last year it raised $200 million for a valuation of around $2.7 billion. This illustrates how investors still have faith in the mobile developer and the GO craze in general. In the US, the title is in the top 200 apps (according to downloads).

Earlier this month, Sensor Tower said GO’s introduction of PvP multiplayer battles would result in “unprecedented” player spending. To put the company’s value in perspective, this was Epic Game’s amount in Spring. In saying this, the Fortnite creator is now worth around $15 billion.

If you’ve been craving affordably priced puzzle titles on the Switch, the latest games announced for the Sega AGES line might be exactly what you need. At the Puyo Puyo Championship December 2018 Tournament, Sega revealed Puyo Puyo and its sequel Puyo Puyo Tsū (Puyo Puyo 2) would be added to the retro-inspired series on Nintendo’s hybrid platform.

Both games are based on the arcade versions and will feature online support. Much like other titles in the Sega AGES line, you can expect additional modern features to be included that enhance the experience. Apart from this, there’s no other information about what else to expect from these classic puzzle games and no word on when each one will be released, either.

The original releases were handled by Japanese developer Compile. The founder of the company Masamitsu Niitani drew inspiration from Tetris and Dr. Mario at the time to create the original game in 1991. The sequel was released in 1994 and went on to become the most widely known multi-platform release within Japan.

Are you glad to hear Puyo Puyo is being added to the Sega AGES line? Tell us below.

When Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled was revealed at the 2018 Game Awards, it was originally thought to be a timed PlayStation exclusive. Not long after, Activision confirmed the game would be simultaneously released on all platforms – including the Switch – on 21st June 2019. At this point, there was a collective sigh of relief by Nintendo fans.

While everything appeared to be in order with the Switch version of the game, it appears this may not actually be the case. A few days ago, GoNintendo reported multiple retailers had removed pre-order options for the Switch version of CTR – with some even going as far as cancelling customer pre-orders. In the latest update, the official website for the game is now displaying a ‘Coming Soon’ message under the digital and standard Switch pre-order section. When selecting the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One version of the game, the original 21st June 2019 release date is still on display.

This has fueled speculation that CTR on the Switch will not be released on this date. If this is the case, it wouldn’t be all that surprising considering past events. Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy was a timed-exclusive and first released on the PlayStation 4 in 2017. One year later, it arrived on the Switch and multiple other platforms. As for the Spyro Reignited Trilogy, after a series of rumours it’s yet to make its away across to Nintendo’s hybrid platform. Once again, the most recent date provided by Activision for CTR on Switch aligns with the release on other platforms.

What do you make of this? Tell us below.

Nintendo Labo and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Let’s Go, Eevee! have made it into the top trending YouTube gaming video list for 2018. After a strong year of Switch marketing, the trailer for the latest Pokémon games placed fifth and the first look at Labo was right behind in the sixth spot.

Out of the ten videos featured, Ninja’s 32 kill-streak video in Fortnite was in first place. The popular streamer was also in second place for a Fortnite collaboration video with YouTube sports and trickshot channel, Dude Perfect. There were another three Fortnite-related videos on the list, with the remaining spots going to the Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 multiplayer reveal trailer, the Fallout 76 teaser trailer and a Buzzfeed video featuring real police playing Grand Theft Auto 5.

Here’s the full list:

1. 32 Kill Solo Squads!! Fortnite Battle Royale Gameplay – Ninja
2. Fortnite with Ninja | Overtime 3 | Dude Perfect
3. *NEW* TRAP TUNNEL RACE Gamemode In Fortnite Battle Royale!
4. Police Try Playing Grand Theft Auto 5 Without Breaking Any Laws
5. Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! Trailer
6. First Look at Nintendo Labo
7. Fallout 76 – Official Teaser Trailer
8. Official Call of Duty®: Black Ops 4 — Multiplayer Reveal Trailer
9. When you shoot a John Wick once
10. Fortnite Music Video – Boogie Bomb (Gucci Gang Parody)

In case you did miss them, below are the two Nintendo videos:

Are you at all surprised to see Labo and Pokémon made it into the top ten? Did you watch any of the other gaming videos on this list throughout the year? Tell us below.

If you’ve been wondering how Super Smash Bros. Ultimate compares to the existing releases on Wii U and 3DS, Digital Foundry has uploaded a video, providing a full technical rundown.

The feature-packed game weighs in at 14GB and sees the return of Ice Climbers, which were removed from the previous release due to performance issues on the 3DS. In terms of the finer details in the Switch version of the game, lighting has been given a drastic overhaul, background details have been improved, character outfits are revamped and fully dynamic shadows are on display. Unfortunately, Donkey Kong’s fur didn’t make the cut and has now been replaced with a basic texture. Whether or not this was an artistic choice on the development team’s behalf is unknown. The new entry also utilises elements of cel-shading previously seen in the past handheld release and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

In handheld mode, this Switch release runs at 1280 x 720 which is a big step up from 400 x 240 on the 3DS. Gone are the low-resolution textures and blurry shadows. In docked mode, Ultimate runs at a native resolution of 1980 x 1080 (the same as the Wii U version). Across both styles of play, Ultimate’s visuals are broadly identical. The resolution drops from 1080p to 720p but the frame rate stays the same at 60fps.

The only time DF noticed performance struggles was it ran tests featuring eight Ice Climbers on screen at once. During these tests, the game ran at a higher frame rate in portable mode. In terms of input lag, Ultimate is most responsive when using a controller connected to the GameCube adapter. As for how Ultimate stacks up against existing releases, it’s the least responsive Smash game to date.

Regardless of the minor technical drawbacks, DF still thinks Ultimate will get plenty of mileage and is one of the best Smash and Switch games to date.

Stardew Valley creator Eric Barone – best known as ConcernedApe – has posted a new developer update outlining future plans for the game and briefly touching on his new project set in the same universe as the existing release. Here’s what he had to say about this new title:

“As many of you know, I’ve been working on a new game for a while. I haven’t revealed anything about it, except that it takes place in the same universe as Stardew Valley. I’ve been deliberately secretive about it because I want to be able to work on it without any pressure for the time being. I also want to make sure the concept is fully realized before revealing anything, because once it’s out there, I’m going to have to fully commit to it. I’m a pretty cautious person when it comes to this sort of thing.”

He went on to explain how he still planned to work on new content for Stardew Valley and would be forming a team to help rollout future update for the games:

“For a while, I considered being finished with Stardew Valley altogether. But that would make me (and many others) sad. So I’ve decided that I’m going to form a team to help me work on future Stardew Valley content. The update I’m working on right now (1.4) will be another solo update, but after that I hope to have a team in place that I can work closely with on future content.”

Even though he’s focused on version 1.4, ConcernedApe reassured console owners he hadn’t forgotten about them:

“I’m aware that saying “I’m working on new content” might be aggravating to those on consoles who don’t have the 1.3 update yet… Or to those on Switch who are experiencing frame rate issues in the new patch… It’s very important to me that I make good on my promises… the idea of expanding further while there are still lingering issues and unmet promises disturbs me, and isn’t something I want to be doing. So I want to make it clear that these issues are my top priority… it takes precedence over any new content… however, I don’t do those ports myself, they are done by Sickhead Games…I am also doing what I can to see the issues with Switch multiplayer get fixed, but that is also not something I can directly accomplish.”

Are you looking forward to the new game from ConcernedApe? Have you been playing the multiplayer update? Tell us below.

As 2018 wraps up, this week’s episode of Nintendo Minute takes time to reflect on the journey Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has been on leading up to its recent release. Joining the hosts Kit and Krysta for this special occasion was Nintendo of America’s President, Reggie Fils-Aimé.

The 13-minute clip starts out with the first teaser of the game revealing the Inkling and follows on with plenty of other key events prior to the game’s release. Along the way, Reggie talks about his love of Ridley and the Metroid series in general, reflects on this year’s Smash Invitational, admits Masahiro Sakurai is “such a tease” and makes mention of the legs on Piranha Plant fighter around the 9-minute mark.

He’s also still enjoying the recent Joker reveal at this year’s Game Awards. The final part of the video is particularly interesting to hear Reggie’s insight about the inclusion of this character and how fans initially thought it might be a Persona 5 announcement for Switch. As we all know, this quickly led to rumours about the game making its way across to the Switch.

Take a look at the full video above and tell us which video in the lead up to Ultimate’s release was your favourite one.

The Switch has this week reinforced its position as the top portable video game system in Japan by surpassing the local lifetime sales count of Sony’s PlayStation Vita.

The Vita had a significant headstart, launching in Japan in 2011, compared to Nintendo’s hybrid device which released domestically last March. There’s been a recent surge in Switch sales leading into the holiday period and following the release of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Let’s Go, Eevee!

In less than two years of availability within Japan, the Switch has now shifted more than six million units (approx. 6,112,100). In the past week, the system sold another 281,222 units. The Vita’s current total sits at 5,955,448 units and is unlikely to see a return to form with Sony announcing in September it was stepping away from the handheld game business in 2019 and had no plans for a future portable device.

On both occasions, Sony’s handheld systems have failed to make an impact like Nintendo’s portable hardware. This includes the company’s inability to match the sales momentum of the DS and 3DS, allowing Nintendo to once again dominate the small-screen video game market with key franchises on Switch such as Mario and Pokémon.

Are you at all surprised to hear the Switch has already surpassed Vita lifetime sales within Japan? Tell us below.